Slimming pills online

*sigh* Here we go again. You'd have thought that people would have learned from That's Life - all that time ago..

They're readily available on [online retailer removed] too. Now clear warnings or checks.

This is a ridiculous non-story - people lie on the internet to get medication and maybe end up hurting themselves? So what? Do we really want a nanny state that stops the 99% of the responsible populace from doing what they want because a few morons might hurt themselves.

Also, how is this GSK's fault? They're not in control of the pharmacies.

Its completely unfair laying into the company that make alli the problem lies with the chemists that were selling it inappropriately.

As a community pharmacist I would like to make the following comments:

- Everyone who visits me gets a comprehensive consultation which includes discussion about weight, how to use Alli properly and the likely side effects.

-The majority of people who enquire about it are young women of normal or low weight- they are obviously refused.

-There are suspicions in the area of young underweight or normal weight women sending in their overweight friends for the consultation! This does not surprise me at all.

-I am glad Watchdog has highlighted the need for assessment and consultation for this drug as many customers have not realised they cannot just buy the drug without being assessed first. I have had some very indignant reactions to being told it is not appropriate and therefore they will not be supplied!

lloyds sugested my partner and i take alli despite her only being 66kg 5foot 6 inch and me 83kg 6foot this was yesterday 12/05/2010.

The side effects from Alli are not merely toilet related. When I took them (twice), I suffered from extreme joint pain, mainly in my hips, that did not stop for at least 2 weeks after stopping taking the pills. It was so bad that I could not sleep and was on very heavy doses of painkillers. Whilst it does help to lose weight, in my opinion it is not worth the money because I was in absolute agony.

You can still buy them off [online retailer removed] from pharmacies and they don't even ask you your age or BMI....these days, its so easy to buy anything you want, so if a consumer doesn't go through Boots or a simular high street shop then they are just gonna get them from [two online retailers removed] where its cheaper and theres no hassle!!

as a boots employee, i know the regulations with the alli pill, and so do all my colleagues. just like alcohol and any other age restricted product, alli could get into the wrong hands. what more could the consumer do than to put regulations on the product? whether the public breach it, is their problem.

The reporter made a bit of a mistake with this story. she stated that a person with a BMI over 28 was classed as severly obese. This is totally untrue. I have a BMI of 30 and while I am classed as overweight, I am definitly not severly overweight.
the rest of the story was very true. this pill has horrendous side effects.

Why is Anne whinging to GSK when they are the manufacturer not the seller. GSK sells to Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy and then they sell it to the customers, GSK cannot control who they sell their product to, its Boots and Lloyds that need to comply to the licence. Since the licence cannot be applied to online sales, anybody can in theory purchase the product using the internet.

I would just like to express my disgust at the guy from alli company saying "those people" that are the wrong people that get hold of this drug. who are "those people?" he means people with eating disorders (which i have suffered with personally) and underage people. eating disorders are illness not a crime. people suffering from eating disorders will lie about age and weight to get hold of these pills not because they want them but because the eating disorder is telling them. so I honestly think the alli guy should do some research in to eating disorders and the deep thinking around them and appoligues and take alli off internet sites.

Why dont the government put a rule that you can only get alli if its subscribed by your doctor(Gp)

I bought this pill when i was 17 from a website that didn't even check my height or weight. I'm not fat, but i did buy these as i thought it would make me slimmer [part of sentence removed by moderator]. I was stupid to buy this pill, but they shouldn't sell it to under 18s.

Surely all they have to do is make you collect your first order from a store so that they can check you are eligible and then provide you with a code so that further purchases can be sent through the post. It's been ordered so you don't have to ask and pharmacies have private rooms these days so you can collect and be weighed in private!

Seems like an easy way to solve it, if people want them that badly and would benefit from them then surely they will ask for them or go see their GP.

Well theres a good plan. Thank you BBC for giving me the tips required to obtain a pill I'd otherwise be refused in shops. With a BMI of 15 I got turned away a while ago.
I didn't think it be available online for this very reason. But now...
I will no doubt be shopping for Alli online.

Not the best way to protect people.

This product is easly avalible in supermarkets what stops people underage and underweight buying them

I think that this should be banned on the internet and should be banned from being sold with consultation from a doctor. It puts everyone at risk including those that sell it in the pharmacy. Glaxco smith-klien is just about making money from big people.

I am absolutely amazed that you have run this article. All you have done is showed people with eating disorders how to get Alli without having to go the Pharmacy (and how to bypass the Pharmacist!!). I am gobsmacked!!

As much as I find the practice of selling drugs to the people that shouldn't be trying to get them, I do object to the wrong person being quizzed and humiliated over this.

This piece was about Boots and Lloyds failure to comply, not Alli's.

Annie, surely if you can't get Boots or Lloyds onto the programme, maybe a statement should have sufficed as opposed to the representative from the supplier who doesn't sell direct to the public being ridiculed over something he doesn't have control over apart from withdrawing the rights to sell it.

Is this story a good point sensationalised and badly reported?

please read this out on tonights show !!!!

i am 16 and i think weather they have changed the way and age that people have to be to buy alli online is obv too late ... because as watchdog showed that 16 year old girl has already received the drugs and could be extremly poorly and i dont think boots should allow these to be bought online... they have enough stores and people can just goto town and buy them and then the despensers can see the people they are giving them to and make sure they need them.... i think this is not acceptable

What a waste of time talking about what people can buy if they lie about their age! People can get anything they want if they really want it!It is their responsibility to make sure what they take is within the guidelines of the drug company. Watchdog is loosing credibility wasting time on such pathetic subject, just take a look at the illegal drugs on the street! Wake up and get in the real world!

People will get hold of this sort of thing no matter what you do. Putting in a false BMI on a website is like getting your Fat mate to walk into the shop and buy it for you. Get real.

Watchdog you should be ashamed of yourselves, you've just shown on telly how to get a slimming pill by lying, there's probebly loads of teenagers and people with eating disorders logging on to the internet to put in false details, how is this a responsible thing to do on telly! What you just did is no better than showing on telly how to steal a car! And it certainly isn't news - you've just lost a viewer!

How can your programme possibly be so naive?
The telling moment for me on the 'slimming pill' was when your presenter (slim looking and a role model) walked across the screen.
Her whole demeanour encapsulated the role model which young women aspire to.
Enough said?
Steve

I have just bought Alli online with no questions from [online retailer removed

Having just watched the report on the slimming pill, I entered my true weight and height on the website of one of the companies highlighted this evening.

My BMI is 25 and therefore is below the 28 it has to be for me to be able to purchase Alli.

Despite having this information, I was able to add this drug to my shopping basket and potentially follow through with a purchase that I should not have been able to make.

So much for them tightening up the controls for selling this drug!

Alli is a good product to assist weight loss. There are side effects but they tend to be worse in those who stuff their faces with fatty foods and expect the pill to counteract the poor diet choices. The blurb that comes with the pills states that the taker should follow a low fat diet, which is what I did and I found no more side effects than [other diet mentioned] in fact the flatulence and loose bowels was [offensive word removed] worse with the latter. Like most dietary aids it only works with a controlled diet. The instructions also recommend taking fat soluble multi vitamins at the same time. My supplier included these in the first batch. Anne, stop making such a fuss over a perfectly safe product. There may not be a licence for under 16 years old but may I tell you that applies to a large number of much more potentially dangerous drugs used in children in the NHS!

First of all, I would like to complain about the use of 'Chemist' used in the segment - it's an out-dated term that implies mediocrity. Pharmacy is a preferred term, and 'pharmacists' are qualified members of the public who are far more aware of drug use and side effects than doctors who have a minimum of five years experience before they are allowed to serve the public independently.

It is irresponsible of people to use the internet to buy medication that qualified pharmacists or qualified pharmacy team members have refused to sell in store. They have done so for a reason. The segment does not seem to appeal to the good work pharmacy teams do and it the use of company names taints the reputation of thousands of pharmacies across the country under those chain brands.

The product in question has been introduced over the counter at the lower dose available in pill form. Ideally, it would only be sold to people who need it and when it is a drug used to reduce the weight of obese patients, it is a drug best sold face-to-face who can also counsel the patient.

If the requirement of the drug is to have a certain BMI score or above, then it should only be sold in person, for the qualified member of staff to determine whether it is suitable for the customer. Let us not forget that body builders would also probably easily qualify for the drug online given the questions. Face to face consultation would distinguish - not discriminate - whether it was suitable for them.

Selling this drug online has several faults and I have dealt with customers in store who have mocked me by saying they will simply buy it online because they were refused the drug instore.
1) Lying to a computer screen is easier than lying to a qualified pharmacy team member.
2) It is irresponsible of the customer to try and buy this without the full knowledge of a qualified pharmacist.
3) It is irresponsible of the online sellers not to recognise the ability of customers to lie and such a product, which is liscensed under restriction, is liable to abuse.

well ive just tried buying alli of boots website and said i was pregnant and it still let me buy it thats not lying.I think it was so easy to but it think it should not be sold over the internet, that way cant be sold to the wrong person

Just thought i'd try getting some of these slimming pills and would you believe it the website is temporarily unavailable. Even though my children are too young to use the website what I have just witnessed on my television is absolutely absurd. How can selling slimming pills in that way be justified? It is absolutely rediculous.

After asking for a gastric band, after years of failed diets, i was told that at a bmi of over 48 i was "too small" to have one,and was told to either get bigger and come back or wait until i was diabetic then id be eligible!At that point my doctor gave me the stronger version of Alli, before this was made available over the counter.Alli proved to be very effective thankfully! i have been taking Alli for a while now and have never had any side effects, i was told before my doctor gave me the prescription , that unless i also stick to a low fat diet, i will have unpleasant side effects ,of the toilet nature. i have followed a low fat diet and as i have already said, had no side effects.if people dont follow the guidelines , what do they expect?!

Firstly, I would like to say how would an anorexic person actually lose weight from alli? If they weren't eating, and even if they were I'm pretty sure as I have known several people with eating disorders that they wouldn't have eaten any food that contains fat- alli only works on fat so it surely wouldn't do any harm to them?
Secondly, I have so far lost 6.5 stone on prescription 'alli' and I feel so cross when people go on about they had really bad side effects, its quite simple if you actually read the instructions and make sure you don't eat foods which contain a lot of fat you wont have to keep running to the loo!! People go on this drug thinking you can still eat what you like, take a pill and lose weight- this is true but you will spend most of your life in the toilet! Its brilliant for teaching you what foods contain 'hidden' fat (mircowave noodles are one of them!) and has sort of trained me to look at what food contains before I eat it, and to take positive steps in choosing the right foods for me and my family. I can honestly say alli has given me my life back :)

Did you hear the cock and bull story the Glaxo guy said about 'a small number of people'? Huh! Why didn't the guy just tell the truth and say that if they stop selling the stupid diet pills online they would LOSE MONEY. Diet pills are so dangerous! Why do people put themselves at risk, especially children. Healthy eating and exercise is what should be taught.

I think the online sites should only accept a credit card and not debit card to buy Alli.

To have a credit card you have to be 18 or over and the credit card company verifies this before they'll send you a card.

Not sure how you could be sure of someone's weight online though. I suppose if they're 18 or over then they are an adult so should be able to buy if they really want to.

Alli works by removing 1/3 of dietary fat by stopping the body from absorbing it. If you are not eating any fat it won't do ANYTHING.
If you do eat too much fat, the side effects will stop you taking it.
Hardly the drug of choice if you have an eating disorder in my opinion. There are far worse diet pills available online. Beat should be focusing on stopping these.

This is very irresponsibly programming by watchdog - all they will have done is increase sales and show vulnerable people how to trick the system.

As for 16 year olds - Alli is expensive - why would they want to waste their cash?

Watchdog should check their facts before broadcasting reports, although Boots and Lloydspharmacy are the two largest chains in the country, it was reported that Boots is the largest - this is not correct, it is Lloydspharmacy.

Irresponsible journalism from Watchdog. Is it more or less likley that underwight and vulnerable young women will seek to obtain a medicine inappropriately as a result of this piece ?

We all share a responsibility to ensure that we use medicines safely and effectively... encouraging people to lie is plain irresponsible... shame on you Watchdog !!!

Another viewer lost

Im surprised you covered this story, I have bought alli from Lloyds and the consultation was really full on, they told me everything about it and the down side too, they did my hight waight and i had to see the pharmacist, she wanted to know everything about me what other tablets i was taking, she covered excersise and diet with me, I think Lloyds are very good at what they do I go for advice there rather that my gp

I also think anyone could get someone else to go in for them we all have an overweight friend or family member, people lie it's them that are in the wrong for beign dishonest, what a silly story

My feelings on this are that all medications are open to abuse if people choose to obtain medication, the role of pharmacy providers is to endevour to ensure the sale of medication is handled in a safe manner.

Where the sale can be emotive such as diet pills and emergency hormanal contraceptive then maybe the sale should be restricted as it is with the emergency hormonal contraceptive to a face to face consultation with the pharmacist, thus making it a more solid process for obtaining the medecines.

I feel both companies have polcies in place which should safe gaurd the sales but pulled out as they are the biggest chains in pharmacy they were chosen to highlight the issue and also show how open the system is to abuse.

The availabilty of a medecine which has evidence, that it works, to help those people who are appropiate as alli offers a genuinely useful product for pharmacy to offer, and helps give access to the medecines for those that need and hopefully reduce the obesity and the health risks with that so feel GSK handling was a little unfair and the training materials they provided before the product launched where easy to understand.

Within pharmacy law there is discussion about the use of remote supervision in community pharmacies, this would allow a pharmacy to make sales of "pharmacy only" medecines such as alli whilst consulting with a pharmacist over the phone which i believe would remove the safeguards currently present where a pharmacist has to be on the premesis in a postion to interevene with the sale, and looking at the feeedback here, i feel justified in having a stance against this.

This is ridiculous scaremongering by watchdog - again. Blatantly this pill is not dangerous - or it would never have been given a licence to be sold over the counter. In US it is for people bmi of 25 and you can buy it in any supermarket without any checks so what are we making the fuss about? Seems to me if you are anorexic then its going to be a waste of money cos if it acts by blocking fat and you wont be eating any, so its not going to make you any thinnner. And if you're a teenager its v. expensive and you'd have to have a credit card - but still not dangerous. A friend of mines 14 yr old daughter was prescribed the stronger version by her GP so it cant be bad. Brave of the alli bloke to front up though it should have been the retailers of course.

As a student studying medicine I just think this is extremely irresponsible journalism. For Anne to take the weakest link approach to the guy from GSK is ludicrous.

If people want to exploit something or obtain something dishonestly or through deception then it WILL happen. This happens all the time with many other industries from illegal drugs, cigarettes, alcohol to even credit card fraud.

Somebody determined to obtain these things WILL.

I bet that both Boots and Lloyds online sales will be through the roof tomorrow. Why? Because of the free advertisement from the BBC telling people how to exploit this.

Well done BBC, good use of license payers money.

P.S. When will Watchdog appear on Watchdog?

" The BBC's Watchdog programme has discovered that people who are underweight and underage can buy slimming pills from Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy "

No you didn't !!

You discovered that 1 underage customer bought alli from Boots, but not from Lloyds... and that people who are underweight but lied to pretend they were not were able to buy alli online... presumably by beaking the terms and conditions of the websites they have registered with.

Is this a good use of licence fee payer's money ?

I thought i would go on the boots web site and try and buy some and as i am breast feeding i thought it would turn me down but it never!!! should u really take this while breat feeding??

I currently take the prescription version of alli, orlistat, which is much cheaper than over the counter. going through the doctor ensures i follow the instructions, for example if i fall to lose a certain amount of weight i will no longer be able to take these tablet. I dont see why these tablets need to be available over the counter.

Also the side effects suggested are not due to the tablets, they are due to poor eating habits, if a calorie controlled, low fat diet is followed there will not be the side effects suggested, such as spontaneous release of the bowels. It is not excrement which is released but fat, in a orange liquid form, so a diet with excessive amounts of fat will cause this problem. I know this from experience, i made the mistake of eating a pizza, a very bad idea. These tablets are not designed to help people who want a quick fix, they are like all diet supplements, they are designed to help only if you are willing to put the work in yourself.

I was disappointed in this story and felt that it was a trumped up piece of journalism.

1) The company fully explains the side affects in its leaflet, you just do need to make sure you read it. It does tell you what will happen.
2) If you lie on the internet its your own problem and if you were that determined you could send a fat friend into the pharmacy.
3) The pills will do nothing for someone who doesn't eat any fat.
4) The pills only work on a low fat diet as it can only remove a third of the fat, so if you eat pizza two thirds of it is still going to go in.

I have been taken these pills for the last 5 months. They ONLY work with a low fat diet so are not some kind of wonder drug. In the last 5 months through exercise, dieting and using these I have lost three stone and I'm disappointed in Watchdog for a poor piece where they didn't really prove anything.

I felt this article misrepresented the item with which there is no problem. The real problem is that people lie and deceive the system.

What nonsense! How can you possibly blame either the pharmacies or the manufacturer for the purchase of Alli by people blatantly lying?
Who will you be investigating next? The tobacco industry and retailers when underage people buy via their older mates? Or the Alcohol industry for the same reason? Or maybe the television companies because underage children are staying up late and watching adult entertainment?
Last nights programme had some very serious straw clutching and barrel bottom scraping!
A very poor show all round - hopefully Matt and Dan will get their own programme back again soon.

I have to stay that I thought the piece on the show about this yesterday was terrible. the way the show accused the pill maker of wrong doing was ridiculous but not entirely surprising as the quality of the programme is rock bottom right now. Most pieces tend to be sensationalised and presented like appeals to get emotional involvement from the viewer, why cant they just stick to the facts and be of use to us?

bring back the old presenters and the old style i say!

I buy mine from [retailer removed] and when i go to buy them i have to weigh myself on their machine which costs 50p and gives me a print out showing my weight, height and BMI. They won't sell them without this print out.
Well done ASDA.

I was VERY disappointed with the coverage on this story. Not only was it sensationalism and a non-story, why are GSK responsible for the selling practices of their suppliers? And well done to Watchdog for showing slightly more vulnerable people exactly how to get around the controls in place for internet purchases.

What a load of precious rubbish!! If your presenters happen not to resemble people in need of a decent meal themselves. This is a complete slur to pharmacies who provide a service to thousands, pick on somebody else

totally agree with comments 49 & 50, get a grip BBC, your presenters are getting more and more annoying, thank god for SKY

I ordered Alli on one of the websites explained putting in a false weight and hight my order went though but later i had an email that my order had been canceled.
I ordered again the following day and my order has now been accepted, I weight 7 stone 10 pounds and am 5ft 4, thanks to watch dog i now no how to get a hold of these pills.